LAWS
The Constitution of the Republic of Tunisia, 2014 (2014)
MAIN IP LAWS
Law No. 2009-33 of 23 June 2009 amending and supplementing Law No. 94 36 of 24 February 1994 on literary and artistic property (2009)
Law No. 2007-68 of 27 December 2007 on Appellations of Origin, Geographical Indications and Indications of Source for Handicrafts (2007)
Law No. 2007-50 of 23 July 2007 amending and supplementing Law No. 2001-36 of 17 April 2001 on the Protection of Trademarks and Service Marks(2007)
Law No. 2001-36 of 17 April 2001 on the Protection of Trademarks & Trade Services (2001)
Law No. 2001-20 of February 6, 2001, on the Protection of the Layout-designs of Integrated Circuits (2001)
Law No. 2001-21 of February 6, 2001 on the Protection of Industrial Designs (2001)
Law No. 2000-84 of August 24, 2000, on Patents (2000)
Law No. 99-57 of 28 June 1999 on registered appellations of origin and indications of source of agricultural products (1999)
Law No. 99-42 of May 10, 1999, on Seeds, Seedlings and New Plant Varieties (1999)
Law No. 94-36 of February 24, 1994, on Literary and Artistic Property (1994)
TREATY APPROVAL
Law No. 2003-59 of 4 August 2003 approving the accession of Tunisia to the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Micro-organisms for the purposes of Patent Procedure and the Regulations (2003)
Law No. 2002-83 of 14 October 2002 approving the accession of the Republic of Tunisia to the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (2002)
TREATY MEMBERSHIP
Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances …
Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled …
Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (October 16, 2013)
Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Micro-organisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure (May 23, 2004)
Patent Cooperation Treaty (December 10, 2001)
Vienna Agreement Establishing an International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks (August 9, 1985)
Nairobi Treaty on the Protection of the Olympic Symbol (May 21, 1983)
Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (November 28, 1975)
Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration (October 31, 1973)
Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks (May 29, 1967)
Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs (October 20, 1930)
Madrid Agreement for the Repression of False or Deceptive Indications of Source on Goods (July 15, 1892)
Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (December 5, 1887)
Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (July 7, 1884)
National Institute for Standardization and Industrial Property (INNORPI)
Rue 8451 n 8 par la rue Alain Savary BP 57 – Cité El Khadra –
1003 Tunis
Tunisia
Tel + 216 71 80 67 58
Fax + 216 71 80 70 71
Mail innorpi@planet.tn
www.inorpi.ind.tn
Trademark requirements:
A signed and sealed power of attorney. A general power may be used for subsequent filings.
Five prints of the mark.
The list of the goods and/or the services (classes) covered by the application in French.
A certified copy of the priority document must be submitted, in case it is claimed.
Document 1 may be submitted within 30 days from filing date. Document 4 may be submitted within 3 months from filing date.
Registration Time Frame
Time frame from filing a trademark application up to registration in the normal course of action; i.e. in case that no office action is raised by the trademark examiner or oppositions are lodged by third parties.
Filing up to Examination : 4 Months
Examination up to Publication : Around 6 months
Opposition Period : 2 Months
End of Opposition Period up to Issuance of Registration Certificate : Around 15 days
Total Estimated Time Frame : Around 1 year
Classification:
The International Classification of Goods and Services (10th Edition) is followed. A single application may include several classes.
Examination:
Examination is performed on formal and absolute grounds only. There is no examination on relative grounds.
Opposition:
Trademark applications accepted by the Registrar are published in the Industrial Property Bulletin. Oppositions may be filed within 60 days from publication date. Extension of time for oppositions/counter-oppositions or for responding to office actions is not possible.
Protection Term:
Trademark registrations are valid for 10 years from filing date and are renewable for like periods. There is no grace period for late renewals of a trademark.
Renewal Requirements:
A Power of attorney, simply signed, which is can be filed within a month time from date of filing the renewal application.
The number, date and the list of the goods of the trademark registration.
Note: There is a 6 months grace period within which a late renewal application can be filed with the payment of the lateness fine. The Tunisian Trademarks Office allows another three months for renewal after the expiry of the grace period if there is a reasonable ground, which is almost accepted in most cases. There will be extra charges of US$ 100 (per renewal) other than the late renewal penalty (of grace period) for effecting the renewal of these marks.
Time frame from filing a trademark renewal application up till issuance of the renewal certificate:
Filing up to Examination : No Examination
Examination up to Publication if exits : Around 10 months
Publication to Issuance of Renewal Certificate : The renewal Certificate can be issued within around 15 days from filing up.
Total Estimated Time Frame : 20 days
Use Requirements:
Use of a trademark is not required for registration or renewal of a mark. However, a trademark is vulnerable to cancellation by any interested party if there has been no effective use of the mark for a period of 5 consecutive years from registration date.
Search:
An official search may be conducted for word marks only. The search takes approximately 5 to 10 working days.
Assignment
Trademark applications and registrations may be assigned with or without the goodwill of the business concerned.
Documents required: Power of attorney from the assignee, simply signed; and deed of assignment, notarized, with simple French translation.
Merger:
A merger may be recorded for trademark applications and registrations.
Documents required: Power of attorney, simply signed; and certificate of merger, legalized with French translation.
Time frame needed for completing the recordal of an assignment/merger recordal:
Filing up to Examination : Around 15 days
Examination up to Publication :No publication
Publication to Issuance of Certificate Recordal :25 days
Total Estimated Time Frame : 45 days
Change of Name/Address:
A change of name/address may be recorded for trademark applications and registrations.
Documents required: Power of attorney, simply signed; and certificate of the change of name or an extract from the commercial register, notarized with French translation. For change of address only a simply signed power of attorney is required.
Time frame needed for completing a change of name and/or address recordal:
Filing up to Examination : Around 15 days
Examination up to Publication if exits : No publication
Publication to Issuance of Certificate of change and/or name Recordal : 25 days
Total Estimated Time Frame : 45 days
Licensing:
License recordal is not compulsory but advisable in order to be effective against third parties.
Documents required: Power of attorney from the licensor, simply signed; power of attorney from the licensee, simply signed and license agreement, notarized with French translation.
Filing up to Examination : Around 15 days
Examination up to Publication : No publication
Total Estimated Time Frame till issuance of the user/license agreement certificate : 25 days
Additional Time Frames:
Time frame required for preparing and filing an opposition or counterstatement with the Trademarks Office and follow up its proceedings till final settlement:
Preparing and filing an opposition or counterstatement with the Trademarks Office: At least 3 days.
Following up its proceedings till final settlement: Around 7 months.
Time frame required for preparing and filing a lawsuit of any type such as infringement or cancellation action and follow up its proceedings till final settlement:.
Preparing and filing a lawsuit of any type such as infringement or cancellation action: At least 7 days.
Following up its proceedings till final settlement: At least 12 months.
Time frame required for filing an appeal with the trademarks registrar or court as applicable regarding an opposition action, counterstatement or rejection:
Filing an appeal with the trademarks registrar or court as applicable regarding an opposition action, counterstatement or rejection: At least 7 days.
Following up its proceedings till final settlement: At least 12 months.
Marking:
Marking is not compulsory.
Cancellation:
A trademark is subject to cancellation by any interested party within 5 years from registration date, unless the mark was registered in bad faith in which there is no time limit.
Three Dimensional Trademark Applications
Admissible.
FILING REQUIREMENTS
1. A simply signed power of attorney.
2. Three copies of the specification in French.
3. Three sets of the formal drawings.
4. A certified copy of the basic application is required when filing a convention application.
The priority document should be submitted within 90 days as from the date of application.
If the assignee applies, it is preferable to file the deed of assignment of priority right signed by the holder of the basic application.
PCT REQUIREMENTS
1- Copy of PCT Request.
2- Copy of International Publication.
3- Copy of International Search Report.
4- Copy of International Preliminary Examination Report (if available).
5- 3 copies of the specifications in English, French or Arabic.
6- 4 sets of formal drawings.
7- Power of attorney, simply signed stating title of signatory.
Items 1-6 must be submitted at the time of filing. Document 7 may be submitted within a non-extendible 1 month period from filing date.
RENEWAL
6-month grace period for late payment with a surcharge.
FILING REQUIREMENTS
1. A simply signed power of attorney.
2. Four representations (photocopies, photographs or drawings) of the design.
3. Four copies of the inscription (if necessary).
Note: The Tunisian authorities accept patent applications and documents in French, English or Arabic.
MULTIPLE FIGURES
It is admissible to submit multiple figures in the same form.
TERM OF PROTECTION
A design or an industrial model registration is granted for 5, 10 or 15 years starting from the date of filing the application. A registration for the shorter terms have the option of applying for the extension of the protection period by the maximum duration of 15 years.
CLASSIFICATION
The International Classification of Goods and Services (10th Edition) is followed. A single application may include several classes.
FILING REQUIREMENTS
1. A signed and sealed power of attorney. A general power may be used for subsequent filings.
2. Five prints of the mark.
3. The list of the goods and/or the services (classes) covered by the application in French.
4. A certified copy of the priority document must be submitted, in case it is claimed.
GRACE PERIOD OF TRADE MARK RENEWAL
There is a 6 months grace period within which a late renewal application can be filed with the payment of the lateness fine. The Tunisian Trademarks Office allows another three months for renewal after the expiry of the grace period if there is a reasonable ground, which is almost accepted in most cases. There will be extra charges of US$ 100 (per renewal) other than the late renewal penalty (of grace period) for affecting the renewal of these marks
SEARCH
Provisions for word mark search is available.